iLehra

                      

Now Available: Version 4.0 with PRESETS, popup taal picker, TAP TEMPO, Santoor and more! Check out the YouTube demo or the audio sample below for the fantastic new sound.

And the reviews are in:

The Tabla is a percussion instrument widely used in Indian Classical music both as a solo instrument and as an accompaniment to vocal or instrumental music. In recent times it has also gained acceptance in western and fusion music. It has two pieces - the left part or the "baya" provides the heavy bass while the right part or the "daya" provides the main percussion sound.

When played as a solo instrument, the tabla is accompanied (usually on the harmonium or sarangi) by a continuous cyclical musical phrase or riff called the "Lehra" or “Nagma” (ostinato in western music) that keeps track of the "aavartan" or rythmic cycle in the chosen "taal".

And now presenting - iLehra

iLehra is an electronic Lehra / Nagma player for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It provides accurate as well as pleasing lehra accompaniment for a wide variety of taals and raags on either the harmonium, violin, or the flute. Its also features a clear visual indication of the current "matra" (place in the rythmic cycle), along with a beautiful tanpura tuned exactly to the same pitch of the lehra and to the notes of the raag.

NOTE: iLehra does not play tabla, it provides a melodic & rythmic accompaniment for tabla. It is intended for use as a time-keeping tool by tabla players for practice or concerts.

Features include:

1. ✓Now plays 71 Lehras for 24 Taals
   

2. ✓Taals included: Ada Chautaal(14), Basant Taal(9), Chartal-ki-Sawari(11), Chautaal(12), Dadra(6), Deepchandi(14), Dhamar(14), Ektaal(12), Ganesh Taal(21), Jhaptaal(10), Jhoomra(14), Keherva(8), Matta Taal(9), Pancham Sawari(15), Rudra Taal(11), Rupak(7), Sooltaal(10), Teentaal(16), as well as general lehras for 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 13, and 18 beats.
   

3. ✓Choice of instruments including Harmonium, Violin, Santoor & Flute
   

4. ✓Extremely accurate tempo tested to within 1 milli-second
   

5. ✓TAP TEMPO: just tap the beats on the bottom display and watch iLehra sync up!
   

6. ✓PRESETS: save your frequently-used combinations of pitch, taal, lehra, instrument & tempo as named presets
   

7. ✓Each lehra has three variations for slow, medium and fast tempos for more natural-sounding lehras
   

8. ✓Beautiful tanpura auto-tuned to pitch and raag of lehra
   

9. ✓Optional Metronome Click-track with different sounds for matras, taalis & khaalis
   

10. ✓Wide range of tempo from 30bpm to 300bpm (bpm = beats per minute)
    

11. ✓Automatic range selection (vilambit, madhya, drut) based on tempo slider
    

12. ✓Extremely precise control of fine-tuning and tempo by clicking on the slider endpoints (- or +). Every click changes the tempo by 1 cent or 1 bpm
    

13. ✓x/2 & 2x buttons to quickly halve or double the tempo
    

14. ✓For even easier control, simply double-tap on the pitch or tempo slider to get a popup picker wheel
    

15. ✓Displays current matra being played
    

16. ✓Full octave of pitch adjustments from C through B with precise fine-tuning of pitch
    

17. ✓Can be used with speakers, headset, or the internal speaker. A high-quality speaker dock is recommended for maximum effect.
    

The application has the following tabs:

Main Tab: The main tab has two sections:

Top Section: This is common to the lehra and the tanpura and is used to set the "base" pitch of Sa.

1. ➡The two buttons tune the pitch up or down one note at a time
   

2. ➡The slider allows fine-tuning of the pitch within a two-note range
   

3. ➡Click on the endpoints of the slider (♭ or ♯) to further fine-tune the pitch by 1 cent (1/100th of a note)
   

4. ➡Hold down on the pitch slider endpoints for faster pitch adjustment
   

5. ➡Double-clicking on the slider brings up a fine-tune value picker wheel
   

6. ➡The display in the middle shows the current note name (i.e. C#) in the center, the octave on the upper right, and the current fine-tune relative value on the upper left. The color of the text in the display indicates whether the fine-tune slider is exactly in the middle (green), to the left of center (red), or to the right of center (cyan).
   

Bottom Section: The bottom section is used to pick the taal, the lehra and the tempo.

1. ➡Use the Taal left and right buttons to select the taal
   

2. ➡Use the Lehra left and right buttons to select a lehra
   

3. ➡Use the Instrument left and right buttons to select an instrument
   

4. ➡Use the Play/Stop button on the bottom left to turn the tanpura on or off
   

5. ➡Use the Play/Stop button on the bottom right to turn the lehra on or off
   

6. ➡The display at the bottom shows the current matra in the center, the tempo range on the bottom, the tempo in bpm on the upper right, and the division on the upper left
   

7. ➡The slider and the buttons around it let you control the tempo in a variety of ways:
   

8. ✦Move the slider to directly adjust the tempo
   

9. ✦Click on the tempo slider endpoints (- or +) to adjust the tempo by 1 bpm
   

10. ✦Hold down on the tempo slider endpoints for faster tempo adjustment
    

11. ✦The x/2 button halves the tempo, and the 2x button doubles it
    

12. ✦Hold down on the tempo display or double-click on the tempo slider to get a tempo picker wheel
    

13. ✦To use the Tap Tempo feature, simply start tapping the beat on the tempo display and watch the tempo match your tapping!
    

Presets Tab: The Presets tab lets you load presets, delete existing ones, or save new presets. iLehra ships with a few sample presets, but you can add your own as well as delete the existing ones at any time. A preset saves the current pitch, the taal, lehra, instrument and the tempo.

1. ➡To play a preset, simply choose the name from the list of saved presets
   

2. ➡To delete a preset, click on the Trash icon on the top left, or simply swipe your finger across the preset row
   

3. ➡To create a new preset, first set the pitch, taal, lehra, instrument and tempo. Then click on the New Preset (+) icon on the top right. Enter a name for the preset when prompted, click OK and you're done!
   

Settings Tab: The Settings tab lets you change the application's global settings.

1. ➡Taal Ordering: This controls whether the display of the taals is ordered alphabetically or by the number of matras (beats) in the taal.
   

2. ➡Auto-Dim Screen: iTablaPro always disables screen-lock when playing an instrument to prevent tempo instability. Turning this option on auto-dims the screen after 30 seconds of inactivity when playing sound. Leave this ON to conserve battery life.
   

3. ➡Sync-Play Tanpura: Turning this on automatically starts and stops the tanpura along with the lehra
   

4. ➡Tanpura Volume: Adjusts the volume of the tanpura
   

5. ➡Click-Track: This allows you to turn the metronome click-track on or off, and adjust its volume
   

6. ➡Reset Settings to Defaults: Clicking on this button will reset all settings to the original factory defaults
   

Info Tab: The info (information) tab provides quick links to iLehra help, more information about the tabla and lehra,  and other useful information.

1. ➡Turn on the tanpura by pressing the tanpura play button and tune the tabla or iLehra so they match
   

2. ➡Pick the taal, this changes the list of lehras available for that taal
   

3. ➡Choose the lehra from the list
   

4. ➡Set the tempo to your liking. Click on the plus/minus signs around the slider to fine-tune
   

5. ➡Start the lehra by pressing the lehra play button
   

NOTES:

1. ➡The Harmonium gives a better feel for the taal and is suitable for any tempo
   

2. ➡The violin & flute give a more "soft" feel but sound better, especially at slower tempos
   

3. ➡The lehra start/stop button also starts and stops the tanpura
   

4. ➡It is recommended to first turn on Airplane Mode on iPhones to reduce effects of background processes on the tempo
   

For best effect, use a high-quality iPhone Speaker dock such as the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 or any other good pair of external speakers.

About The Developer

Prasad Upasani is a professional musician, teacher and performer who also happens to be a talented programmer with over 15 years in IT. He has a Master's degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor's degree (Sangeet Visharad) in Indian Classical music. He lives in Southern California.

Feedback, questions or need support? Send an Email

Special thanks to Rupesh Kotecha for lehras, feedback, beta testing, and lots of encouragement!

Some lehras courtesy of Chandra and David Courtney www.chandrakantha.com

YouTube Demo

Click here to watch on YouTube.